Electric Propulsion Plume Simulations Using Parallel Computer

A parallel, three-dimensional electrostatic PIC code is developed for large-scale electric propulsion simulations using parallel supercomputers. This code uses a newly developed immersed-finite-element particle-in-cell (IFE-PIC) algorithm designed to handle complex boundary conditions accurately while maintaining the computational speed of the standard PIC code. Domain decomposition is used in both field solve and particle push to divide the computation among processors. Two simulations studies are presented to demonstrate the capability of the code. The first is a full particle simulation of near-thruster plume using real ion to electron mass ratio. The second is a high-resolution simulation of multiple ion thruster plume interactions for a realistic spacecraft using a domain enclosing the entire solar array panel. Performance benchmarks show that the IFE-PIC achieves a high parallel efficiency of ≥ 90%

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ELBA (electron beams in accelerators) particle simulation code

Laser and Particle Beams ◽

10.1017/s0263034600007734 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 273-282 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Glenn Joyce ◽

Jonathan Krall ◽

Steven Slinker

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Electron Beams ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Forward Direction ◽

Laboratory Frame ◽

Particle Simulation ◽

Simulation Code ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Charged Particle Beams ◽

Cell Simulation

ELBA is a three-dimensional, particle-in-cell, simulation code that has been developed to study the propagation and transport of relativistic charged particle beams. The code is particularly suited to the simulation of relativistic electron beams propagating through collisionless or slightly collisional plasmas or through external electric or magnetic fields. Particle motion is followed via a coordinate “window” in the laboratory frame that moves at the speed of light. This scheme allows us to model only the immediate vicinity of the beam. Because no information can move in the forward direction in these coordinates, particle and field data can be handled in a simple way that allows for very large scale simulations. A mapping scheme has been implemented that, with corrections to Maxwell's equations, allows the inclusion of bends in the simulation system.

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Three-dimensional particle simulation of back-sputtered carbon in electric propulsion test facility

Acta Astronautica ◽

10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.12.016 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 132 ◽

pp. 161-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Hongru Zheng ◽

Guobiao Cai ◽

Lihui Liu ◽

Shengfei Shang ◽

Bijiao He

Keyword(s):

Electric Propulsion ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Particle Simulation ◽

Test Facility

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Thermo-mechanical coupling particle simulation of three-dimensional large-scale non-isothermal problems

Engineering Computations ◽

10.1108/ec-04-2016-0135 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 1551-1571 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ming Xia

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Simulation Method ◽

Particle Simulation ◽

Similarity Criteria ◽

Particle Model ◽

Length Scale ◽

Content Type ◽

Mechanical Coupling ◽

Particle Simulation Method

Purpose The main purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive upscale theory of the thermo-mechanical coupling particle simulation for three-dimensional (3D) large-scale non-isothermal problems, so that a small 3D length-scale particle model can exactly reproduce the same mechanical and thermal results with that of a large 3D length-scale one. Design/methodology/approach The objective is achieved by following the scaling methodology proposed by Feng and Owen (2014). Findings After four basic physical quantities and their similarity-ratios are chosen, the derived quantities and its similarity-ratios can be derived from its dimensions. As the proposed comprehensive 3D upscale theory contains five similarity criteria, it reveals the intrinsic relationship between the particle-simulation solution obtained from a small 3D length-scale (e.g. a laboratory length-scale) model and that obtained from a large 3D length-scale (e.g. a geological length-scale) one. The scale invariance of the 3D interaction law in the thermo-mechanical coupled particle model is examined. The proposed 3D upscale theory is tested through two typical examples. Finally, a practical application example of 3D transient heat flow in a solid with constant heat flux is given to illustrate the performance of the proposed 3D upscale theory in the thermo-mechanical coupling particle simulation of 3D large-scale non-isothermal problems. Both the benchmark tests and application example are provided to demonstrate the correctness and usefulness of the proposed 3D upscale theory for simulating 3D non-isothermal problems using the particle simulation method. Originality/value The paper provides some important theoretical guidance to modeling 3D large-scale non-isothermal problems at both the engineering length-scale (i.e. the meter-scale) and the geological length-scale (i.e. the kilometer-scale) using the particle simulation method directly.

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Development and application of a parallel two-dimensional particle-in-cell code based on an existing three-dimensional parallel PIC code

IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts. 1999 IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 26th IEEE International Conference (Cat. No.99CH36297) ◽

10.1109/plasma.1999.829697 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

J.J. Watrous ◽

G.E. Sasser ◽

J.W. Luginsland ◽

S.C. Collela

Keyword(s):

Three Dimensional ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Pic Code

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Large-scale 3D inversion of marine magnetotelluric data: Case study from the Gemini prospect, Gulf of Mexico

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.3526299 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 76 (1) ◽

pp. F77-F87 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Michael S. Zhdanov ◽

Le Wan ◽

Alexander Gribenko ◽

Martin Čuma ◽

Kerry Key ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Large Scale ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Integral Equation Method ◽

Computer Code ◽

Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽

Parallel Computer ◽

3D Inversion ◽

Magnetotelluric Data ◽

Geoelectrical Structures

Three-dimensional magnetotelluric (MT) inversion is an emerging technique for offshore hydrocarbon exploration. We have developed a new approach to the 3D inversion of MT data, based on the integral equation method. The Tikhonov regularization and physical constraint have been used to obtain a stable and reasonable solution of the inverse problem. The method is implemented in a fully parallel computer code. We have applied the developed method and software for the inversion of marine MT data collected by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) in the Gemini prospect, Gulf of Mexico. The inversion domain was discretized into 1.6 million cells. It took nine hours to complete 51 iterations on the 832-processor cluster with a final misfit between the observed and predicted data of 6.2%. The inversion results reveal a resistive salt structure, which is confirmed by a comparison with the seismic data. These inversion results demonstrate that resistive geoelectrical structures like salt domes can be mapped with reasonable accuracy using the 3D inversion of marine MT data.

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Three-dimensional gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulation of plasmas on a massively parallel computer: Final report on LDRD Core Competency Project, FY 1991--FY 1993

10.2172/10157900 ◽

1994 ◽

Author(s):

J.A. Byers ◽

T.J. Williams ◽

B.I. Cohen ◽

A.M. Dimits

Keyword(s):

Three Dimensional ◽

Core Competency ◽

Parallel Computer ◽

Massively Parallel ◽

Final Report ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Cell Simulation

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Influence of the Decelerator Grid on the Optical Performance of the Ion Thruster

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering ◽

10.1155/2019/8916303 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Chang Lu ◽

Yide Zhao ◽

Jie Wan ◽

Yuchuan Chu ◽

Liang Zheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Previous Experiment ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Great Influence ◽

Optical Performance ◽

Number Density ◽

Ion Thruster ◽

Immersed Finite Element Method ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Immersed Finite Element ◽

Simulation Results

In order to reduce the erosion of the ion thruster accelerator grid, which is caused by charge-exchange (CEX) ions, the 2-grid optical system is added to a decelerator grid to block the reflux CEX ions. The previous experiment and simulation results have proven that the decelerator grid can effectively reduce the Pit and Groove erosion. However, the influence of the decelerator grid on the optical performance has not yet been studied well. In this paper, a three-dimensional Immersed Finite Element Method-Particle in Cell-Monte Carlo Collision (IFE-PIC-MCC) algorithm was adopted to investigate the effect of the decelerator grid on the optical performance under crossover and normal circumstances. Results show that the decelerator grid has no effect on the focusing state and the distribution of beam ions. It also has little effect on the CEX ions from the upstream and extraction (center) regions. However, it has great influence on the downstream CEX ions. When the upstream plasma number density is small, the decelerator grid will cause most of the downstream reflux CEX ions to impinge on the accelerator grid aperture barrel, resulting in the significant increase of the Barrel erosion of the accelerator grid. With the increase of the upstream plasma number density, the downstream reflux CEX ions tend to impact the downstream surface of the decelerator grid, which means the decelerator grid begins to block the downstream backflow of CEX ions.

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Particle acceleration in a reconnecting current sheet: PIC simulation

Journal of Plasma Physics ◽

10.1017/s0022377809008009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 619-636 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

TARAS V. SIVERSKY ◽

VALENTINA V. ZHARKOVA

Keyword(s):

Electric Field ◽

Energy Distribution ◽

Current Sheet ◽

Plasma Density ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Polarization Field ◽

Electron Mass ◽

Langmuir Waves ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Reconnecting Current Sheet

AbstractThe acceleration of protons and electrons in a reconnecting current sheet (RCS) is simulated with a particle-in-cell (PIC) 2D3V (two-dimensional in space and three-dimensional in velocity space) code for the proton-to-electron mass ratio of 100. The electromagnetic configuration forming the RCS incorporates all three components of the magnetic field (including the guiding field) and a drifted electric field. PIC simulations reveal that there is a polarization electric field that appears during acceleration owing to a separation of electrons from protons towards the midplane of the RCS. If the plasma density is low, the polarization field is weak and the particle trajectories in the PIC simulations are similar to those in the test particle (TP) approach. For the higher plasma density the polarization field is stronger and it affects the trajectories of protons by increasing their orbits during acceleration. This field also leads to a less asymmetrical abundance of ejected protons towards the midplane in comparison with the TP approach. For a given magnetic topology electrons in PIC simulations are ejected to the same semispace as protons, in contrast to the TP results. This happens because the polarization field extends far beyond the thickness of a current sheet. This field decelerates the electrons, which are initially ejected into the semispace opposite to the protons, returns them back to the RCS, and, eventually, leads to the electron ejection into the same semispace as protons. The energy distribution of the ejected electrons is rather wide and single-peaked, in contrast to the two-peak narrow-energy distribution obtained in the TP approach. In the case of a strong guiding field, the mean energy of the ejected electrons is found to be smaller than it is predicted analytically and by the TP simulations. The beam of accelerated electrons is also found to generate turbulent electric field in the form of Langmuir waves.

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Three-dimensional electromagnetic relativistic particle-in-cell code VLPL (Virtual Laser Plasma Lab)

Journal of Plasma Physics ◽

10.1017/s0022377899007515 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 425-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 259

Author(s):

A. PUKHOV

Keyword(s):

Laser Plasma ◽

Inertial Confinement Fusion ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Inertial Confinement ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Laser Plasma Interactions ◽

Electromagnetic Simulations ◽

Self Focusing ◽

Confinement Fusion ◽

Pic Code

The three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) code VLPL (Virtual Laser Plasma Lab) allows, for the first time, direct fully electromagnetic simulations of relativistic laser–plasma interactions. Physical results on relativistic self-focusing in under-dense plasma are presented. It is shown that background plasma electrons are accelerated to multi-MeV energies and 104 T magnetic fields are generated in the process of self-focusing at high laser intensities. This physics is crucial for the fast ignitor concept in inertial confinement fusion. Advances in the numerical PIC algorithm used in the code VLPL are reviewed here.

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